Burying The Hatchet
by Callisto-HK
Summary: People kept disappearing in the woods near a small town; when Dean and Sam started to look into it, they didn't expect things to take a nosedive like that. Hurt!Angst!Dean and Angst!Caring!Sam /Set in season 8. Rated T for language./ PLEASE READ THE A/N!
1. Chapter 1

_**A/N:** This story is happening during season 8, but it has nothing to do with what is going on right now on the show, so there will be **just some small** spoilers!_

**_IMPORTANT A/N:_**

**As you know Jensen and his wife Danneel are expecting their first kid, a baby girl! :) They've chosen a charity and have asked their fans to donate to this charity instead of sending gifts! So, for those of you who didn't know about the page that Jensen has set up, here's the address: http(colon)(slash)(slash)fundly(d o t)c o m(slash)baby-ackles-gift**

**(Please note it is typed out and there are spaces between some letters due to ffnet's policy on web addresses)**

**And here's Jensen's note on the fundraising page:**

**"Some of you have expressed interest in giving Danneel and I baby gifts for our**  
**little girl. We would ask instead that you donate to this wonderful charity. We**  
**are truly grateful for your support and generosity. You guys are the best!**  
**Always,**  
**Jensen"**

.

**_I'm sorry for the long A/N, but please _****_spread the word_** and donate if you can, the amount of your donation is NOT important, every dollar counts! This is for a good cause!

_**.**_

* * *

**.**

**. Burying The Hatchet .**

**.**

"Forget it, Dean!" Sam growled for the umpteenth time and leaned against a tree, folding his arms across his chest.

"What the heck is wrong with you?" Dean growled back. "You have to go and find whoever is behind this; what difference do you think it makes if you stay here?"

"I will _not_ leave you here."

"I'm not asking you to go and live your life." Dean rolled his eyes. "Hell, I'll hunt you down if you do." he gave his little brother a smirk. "But you gotta do something. Find out what's going on. We obviously can't do anything while we're stuck here."

Sam looked a bit hesitant.

"Sam, this can't be our lives, but it _will_ be, if you don't go _now_. You stay here with me and we will turn into a couple of hillbillies."

.

**** FIVE DAYS EARLIER ****

**.**

"Hey, listen to this." Dean spoke to catch his brother's attention as an article caught his eyes. It was a Wednesday morning and they were sitting in a diner is a small town near Ashton in Wyoming.

"Last Friday, two boys disappeared in the woods and apparently it's the fourth time, this year that something like this has happened."

Sam frowned. "So, what do you want us to do about it?"

"What we always do. We look into it." Dean replied while still scanning the article. "Wait."

"What?"

"According to this article a plan's crashed in the same area ten years ago."

_That was interesting_; Sam thought. "Any survivors?"

"Don't know. There's nothing about that crash here." Dean dropped the newspaper on the table and motioned with his hand for the waitress to come.

"Do you boys need anything else?" The middle-aged woman asked kindly.

"Your number, maybe?" Dean asked sweetly and Sam rolled his eyes.

"Only if I were younger." The woman laughed. "So?"

"Actually there's something... Sally." Dean read her name tag and cleared his throat. "I was reading this article and saw something about a plane crash in the woods around here. You know anything about it?"

The woman sighed. "Yes. I remember that one. It was so sad. What do you want to know about it?"

"Were there any survivors?" Dean asked.

"Just one. Kyle Burke. He doesn't remember anything about the crash, though. They found him in the field just outside the woods. His left arm was broken in three places and was badly infected; they had to amputate it, but other than that he was fine."

Both Dean and Sam grimaced.

"How long after the crash did they find him?"

Sally shrugged, "I'm not sure; probably one week. We didn't even know their plan had crashed. But one week before finding him, Kyle and three of his friends had left the town on their small plane and hadn't come back."

Dean shared a look with Sam. "What about the others? Did you find their bodies?"

Sally looked uncomfortable. "What does it matter? Why do you ask so many questions about it?"

"We're just curious." Sam answered innocently. "Accidents like this are always heartbreaking, but we were wondering why we'd never heard of it."

The woman sighed. "This is a small isolated area; news like this won't leave the town."

"The others?" Dean asked again.

"We don't know, alright?" Sally declared, almost agitatedly. "Nobody goes in those woods."

Dean raised an eyebrow. "Why not?"

"We just don't. Our parents have prevented us from going anywhere near those woods and so have their parents. It's ominous. And now people keep disappearing in there. You read the article. Two other boys have disappeared just this week and in a small town like this, we're like a big family. Those stupid boys were like my own sons and now they're gone too, just because they couldn't stifle their curiosity." her voice was a mixture of sadness, anger and remorse. "It'll be 35 bucks." she said, indicating that the conversation was over.

Dean pulled out a 50 dollar bill and handed it to her. "Just one more thing. Where can we find this Kyle guy?"

Sally studied him for a few seconds. "He lives ten minutes away from here. In that yellowish house." she pointed out the window. "But I'm telling you, he doesn't like visitors. Especially nosy strangers." and with that she walked away.

..

One hour later, Dean parked the Impala in front of Kyle's place and knock on the door, waiting for someone to open it. A couple of minutes passed till finally a disheveled looking man opened it slightly and peeked out. "What?"

"Mr. Burke, Hi. We are with the FBI." Dean showed his ID card. "We need to ask you a few questions."

"About what?"

"About those boys who disappeared in the woods last Friday." Sam answered.

"And what's that got anything to do with me? I haven't left my freaking house for months."

"We know." Dean nodded. "But you're the only survivor of a plane crash which has happened in the same area."

The man paled. "I don't remember anything about it."

"Can we just come in?"

"No." Kyle said curtly and was about to close the door, when Dean stopped him.

"Emily Bright." he said, making both Sam and Kyle frown in confusion.

"What about her?" Kyle asked, as Sam eyed Dean a few more seconds before turning his attention back to the man standing in front of them.

"She was in that plane with you, wasn't she?" Dean said calmly.

"I told you; I don't remember a frigging thing." Burke growled.

"I know, but she died there and we think something was behind that crash. Don't you want to find out why your girlfriend is dead or why you've lost your arm?"

The man gulped. Until then, the left side of his body was hidden behind the door, making it impossible for them to see it and it was clear that it was a sore point with him.

"I can't help you." he said quietly. "I really don't remember anything. I wish I could, but-"

"What about the day before the crash?"

"Nothing that can help you with your investigation. We just decided to make my friend, Anthony, to give us a free ride in his 4-seater Cessna. We'd never do that if we knew things would get this ugly."

Dean and Sam nodded in sympathy.

"All I remember is getting in that plane and then nothing. The next thing I know is waking up in that damn hospital with my arm gone. Along with all my close friends." his gaze was fixed somewhere behind them, as if he'd gone back to those days. Shaking his head he looked back at Dean. "It doesn't matter what happened that day. Emily is gone and so are my other friends. Your investigation won't bring them back and it sure won't give me back my arm." with that he closed the door in their faces.

Dean and Sam quietly walked away.

"How did you know about Emily?" Sam asked when they reached their car.

Dean smirked. "Dear sweet Sally."

Sam raised an eyebrow, but then chuckled. "She's old enough to be your mother."

"So? I didn't sleep with her. I just found us some valuable information."

..

It took them two more days to gather more information through people or old local articles, but by the third night in that town, they still had nothing useful.

"Could it be another scarecrow?" Sam asked when Dean handed him a beer.

Dean glared at him expressionlessly. "Only if they're stupid enough to put a scarecrow in the _woods_." he deadpanned. "And there's no pattern in the way they disappear."

Sam actually felt stupid for asking that question. He nodded. "And people seemed genuinely scared of those woods."

"Did anyone say why they're scared?"

"Not really. They all just agree on one thing; people have started to disappear in those woods after that plane crash."

"Ghost?" Dean suggested.

Sam shrugged. "Could be. People have left them there; they're probably angry and looking for revenge."

"Makes sense."

"We're gonna go in there. Aren't we?" Sam sighed.

Dean wrinkled his nose. "I hate camping."

**.**

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**... TBC ...**

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**_A/N: _****_Hopefully, I'll be able to update in a couple of days, but you gotta _**tell me what you **_think! :)  
_**

_Sorry for any mistakes._

**_Don't forget to donate and spread the word! ;)_**

**.**

**.**


	2. Chapter 2

The next morning, they were packing their stuff when someone knocked at the door. Opening the door they were more than surprised to find Kyle standing behind it.

"Mr. Burke." Dean blinked, unsure of what to say.

The man in front of him hadn't left his house for months and was clearly reluctant to talk to them the other day, and now he was standing there, six in the morning.

"You're going into those woods, aren't you?" He asked in lieu of greeting.

"We might." Dean said and moved aside to give room to his brother who'd joined him to see what the other man wanted.

"I wanna come with you." the man said.

"What?" Dean and Sam exclaimed in unison.

"You're not really with the FBI, either." It wasn't a question. "Look, I might look like a hermit to you-"

"Not really." Dean mumbled under his breath.

Kyle couldn't help but to smile. He already liked Dean; he reminded him of himself before that fateful day that changed his life forever. "Yeah, well, some might think of me that way. Anyway, my point is I still can do some research, even with one arm and I know that the news about these missing people has never gone further than the local papers. FBI has no way to know about it, and I'm pretty sure even if they knew, they'd have better things to do than sending two agents to check the woods."

Sam was about to protest when Kyle brought his only arm up and silenced him.

"Besides, no one working for any alphabet agencies has a car that cool." He glanced back at the Impala which was parked in the parking lot. "And if they had they wouldn't risk it for a stupid operation."

Dean beamed at the compliment, even though it meant that they'd been busted.

Kyle chuckled. "You're Dean and Sam Winchester."

At that, Sam grabbed Kyle's collar and pulled him inside, while Dean pulled out his gun with one hand, pointing it at the man's head; with his left hand he grabbed a flask and tossed it to Sam who unscrewed its cap and poured holy water on Kyle.

They'd been so fast that Kyle hadn't even found enough time to make a sound and was completely dumbfounded by the end of their little show.

"What the hell are you?" Dean growled.

"Huh?" the man blinked in confusion.

"How do you know our names?" Sam demanded.

"Oh, I..." he coughed. "I have a friend who told me about you guys."

"What?" Dean frowned.

"After that incident, I was miserable." Kyle stepped back and stared at Dean's gun and with his eyes he pleaded the other man to lower it. Dean lowered the barrel a little and with his head motioned him to continue.

"Yes, well, a friend of mine was crazy enough to believe in Supernatural stuff. We always laughed at him, but he seemed unfazed. When he heard about the plane crash, he kept telling me that something Supernatural had been behind it, but I pushed him away. Somewhere at the back of my mind, I knew he could be right, but I didn't want to believe it, because that would make it real. It'd make everything real; the whole incident, me losing my arm, my friends, the love of my life." he sighed. "I was in denial for years and when I came to my senses, everyone has left my side and I was all alone."

"You saying your friend was a hunter?" Sam asked.

"And if he was, why hasn't _he_ looked into this?" Dean pointed out.

"A hunter? No. No," Kyle shook his head. "He's not a hunter. He-" he chuckled. "He's never had the guts; that's partially why we mocked him and never believed him; because as far as I can remember he's been scared of the monster in the closet."

"Wise man." Dean growled.

"Whu-" Kyle frowned. "He was right to be scared, wasn't he?"

Both Dean and Sam nodded.

"Shit."

"Go on with what you were saying." Dean pushed.

"Right. Well, I knew where he is living now. When you showed up at my door the other day, all his words came back to me and this time, I was ready to accept them... Because even if they're not true, then I don't have anything else to lose."

"Doesn't explain how you know us." Sam said coldly.

"Yes. Umm, I called Peter and told him what I thought. Man, he was so excited to hear I've finally started to believe him and that two hunters were looking into it. Of course I didn't know about the '_hunters_' part. I just told him that two suspicious guys have shown up on my doorstep, asking weird questions."

Dean looked offended. "We're not suspicious."

"I already explained why you couldn't be FBI agents." Kyle shrugged. "Anyway, he told me about hunters and asked me to describe you."

Sam raised an eyebrow. "And just like that he recognized us?"

Kyle nodded. "He said you two are the best. Told me your names and many other things. I'm telling you, he sounded like a die-hard fan of yours."

Dean exchanged a look with Sam and rolled his eyes. "Silver knife."

Nodding his head, Sam grabbed Dean's knife and walked back to Kyle.

Taking a big step back, Kyle gulped. "What? What?" he looked frantically from Sam to Dean who once again had his gun raised to his head. "I told you everything. I swear. There's nothing more. Look, I'm sorry; I'll just go and get back to my solitude! I won't say a word to anyone and trust me, no one would ever believe me even if I said anything. Just don't kill me."

Rolling his eyes, Sam grabbed the man by his shoulder. "We don't wanna kill you. Just have to make sure you're not tricking us." Saying that, he grabbed the man's right palm and cut it with the knife, watching as some red blood welled up.

"Well, apparently he's telling the truth."

"Of course I'm telling the truth." the man pulled his hand away and clenched his fist to stop the bleeding. "What the hell?"

"Sorry, but in our line of work, you can't trust people easily." Dean shrugged and holstered his gun. "So, what did you say you want, again?"

Kyle eyed them suspiciously for a few moments. "I wanna come with you."

"Like hell." - "No way." Came their responses at the same time.

"I-" Kyle looked amused. "Look, I won't be in your way. I just need to remember. Please. I know I can't do much with one arm and I know you two wouldn't be the best if you needed help from ordinary people. But I need some sort of closure. And." he swallowed. "And I need to find their bodies. Please."

"Listen, pal." Dean tilted his head. "We know it hasn't been easy for you, the past ten years. But we can't take you. It's dangerous enough. We can't risk your life and we sure can't look after you. We'll look into this and hopefully will solve the problem. Then you'll have enough time to go and spend as many days as you want in those woods; hell, you can go and even live there."

"I'll go in there _now_, with or without you." Kyle stated stubbornly. "But I might turn out to be helpful, after all. Who knows?"

Sam narrowed his eyes and Dean asked. "What are you not telling us?"

"Nothing. Seriously, I don't remember shit, but there are these dreams, or nightmares, I suppose, that gives me hints. I think I might remember things if I go back there and if I remember, then I might be able to help you to put an end to whatever is going on in those woods."

Dean and Sam looked at each other and held a nonverbal conversation, but when they finally broke eye contact, they'd reached an agreement.

"Alright, you can come." Dean announced, "but you'll do exactly _as_ we say and _when_ we say it. Capiche?"

Nodding his head aggressively, Kyle showed his understanding.

"And you'd better not be lying to us, because next time, I won't hesitate to pull the trigger."

"Not lying." he shook his head. "When will we head out?"

"Now." Dean and Sam answered in unison again.

...

They parked their car a couple of miles away from the first line of trees and headed towards the woods on foot, with their duffel bags slung over their shoulders.

After walking for almost nine hours they suddenly saw the remaining of the small plane somewhere between the trees. Weed and moss had covered almost the entire exterior of the plane and had clearly gone inside to cover its interior as well.

Glancing at their company, Dean noticed that he'd paled. Nodding his head towards him, he indicated for Sam to give him some water.

"I'm gonna check the inside. You stay here with Sam."

Kyle was about to protest but a glare from both Dean and Sam silenced him.

As they had guessed, the interior was also covered in moss, a clear sign that nobody had touched that thing for years.

Contrary to what Dean had thought, the plane was empty; meaning that either Kyle had brought his friends' bodies out of the plane or they hadn't died instantly in the crash.

Walking outside, he found Kyle sitting on a tree trunk, with Sam eyeing the area cautiously.

"It's empty." Dean exclaimed. "Do you remember anything yet?"

Shaking his head, Kyle just stared at the remaining of that plane.

"We better look around." Sam said and got a nod in response from Dean.

Almost 30 feet away, they found a grave and guessed that it belonged to one of the plane's passengers, and judging by how bad the pilot's seat looked, Dean guessed that it was the pilot who had been buried there.

They knew what was next. So, quietly, they just dug and burnt the bones of whoever was lying there probably for the last ten years.

When they were done, they restarted their search in the woods, but they hadn't been walking more than ten or fifteen minutes when something caught their eyes.

Blinking in confusion, Dean turned around to look at Sam, to make sure he was seeing right. Sam looked just as bemused, but what stopped Dean was the look on Kyle's face.

Unlike them the older man didn't look confused; he merely looked terrified, with his eyes as big as saucers.

They really wanted to ask him what was going on, but first, they had to take care of the matter in hand, which happened to be a much disheveled looking woman, standing on the edge of a cliff, looking down and sobbing. She didn't seem to be aware of their presence and was muttering something under her breath, while her shoulders shook with painful sobs.

"Excuse me, lady?" Dean asked tentatively, cautiously closing the distance between them. "Hey, umm. You alright?" She could be one of the people that had disappeared in the woods recently; they hadn't been able to find a complete list of missing people and this girl didn't really look like any ghosts that they had seen before.

Sam had the Rock Salt Gun ready and nodded his head when Dean silently asked if he had his back.

Clenching his gun with his right hand, Dean slowly reached out with his left to touch the girl's shoulder.

What happened next was nobody's guess.

In fact, things happened so fast that if there were any sane and uninvolved audiences, they wouldn't be able to tell you in what order things happened or even if there were any orders at all. Everything seemed to have happened at once.

One moment Dean was touching the girl who was at least two feet away from him, and the next she turned around, grabbed Dean's nape and dug a large pocket knife into his stomach, up to the hilt.

Dean only gasped, as his gun fell from his now numb hand.

He vaguely heard Sam screaming his name and shooting at the woman, which not so surprisingly resulted in her vanishing, but just not in time! The blast of the rock salt sent them both over the edge of the cliff and the last thing Dean saw was the girl vanishing into thin air and Sam's face over the cliff getting farther and farther away.

Right then the icy and shockingly _hard_ water engulfed him and then there was nothing.

**.**

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**... TBC ...**

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**_A/N: _**_**I hope you share your thoughts with me**_**_! :)_**

_Sorry for any mistakes._

**_And just a friendly reminder: Don't forget to donate and spread the word about the "Hats Off For Cancer" charity! Thank you. ;)_**

**.**

**.**


	3. Chapter 3

_Dean only gasped, as his gun fell from his now numb hand._

_He vaguely heard Sam screaming his name and shooting at the woman, which not so surprisingly resulted in her vanishing, but just not in time! The blast of the rock salt sent them both over the edge of the cliff and the last thing Dean saw was the girl vanishing into thin air and Sam's face over the cliff getting farther and farther away._

_Right then the icy and shockingly hard water engulfed him and then there was nothing._

* * *

Sam threw his shotgun away and leaped forward to catch Dean, but instead he watched in horror as his brother hit the water's surface, went down and didn't come up again.

His throat was sore from all the shouting, but he couldn't think about it at that moment. He turned around to look for a way down to the riverside and saw Kyle kneeling on the ground with his right fist clenching around dirt and grass, trembling like a leaf.

He would've felt sorry for him if he had time, but he didn't, so he just shouted his name. "Kyle. Stay here. I gotta go after Dean." and without another glance, he just took off and chose a rather safe way to climb down the cliff and descend the hill.

.

Dean felt detached from his body; he knew he had to struggle to resurface and save himself, but he didn't find the energy within him.

The water around him was turning red at an alarming rate and the pain and coldness were both bone deep. Turning his head slightly he saw a huge rock approaching him, or was it _him_ approaching that rock? That didn't matter, because he hit it head-first and his world exploded in white hot pain and then there was blood and... Once again, the blissful darkness.

.

Sam had been running and jumping over the rocks down the riverside, shouting Dean's name and looking for him for at least fifteen minutes when he finally saw him.

The scene before him made him freeze in his track. A few yards away from where he was standing, there was a small pool where water had gathered between the rocks and right in the middle of it, his brother was floating, bonelessly and face down!

"Oh, God. No." Sam murmured before jumping over a rock and into the water to get to his brother. He pulled Dean out of the water and laid him on the ground, searching for a pulse, but it was nonexistent.

"Dammit, Dean." he cursed as he checked for signs of breathing and heaved a sigh of relief when he found a shallow wheezing. At least he didn't have to do mouth to mouth. Starting with the heart massage, he talked to Dean to bring him back. "Come on, come on. Open your eyes."

It probably hadn't taken more than a few minutes, but Sam felt like it had been hours before Dean finally coughed harshly and started to stir.

His head was bleeding sluggishly, but what Sam was worried about was the stab wound. He moved Dean's clothes away from the wound to take a look at it, but was shocked at what he saw.

The stab wound was dangerously close to his right side, near where his liver was located and if Sam was right and the blade had hit or even nicked Dean's liver, there was no way Sam could get him to a hospital in time. But apparently it wasn't needed; the wound was gone and instead of it there was a nasty scar. "What the hell?"

"Hmm?"

Sam's head jerked up at Dean's voice and he gently tapped him on the cheek. "Hey, hey, open your eyes. Come on."

Dean blinked his eyes owlishly and looked at Sam with a frown. "Whatsgoingon?" he slurred.

"Miracle." Sam answered. "Or that's what I would say if I didn't know about our luck."

"Huh?" Dean's frown deepened as he looked up with bleary eyes.

"You remember being stabbed and thrown into the river?"

"Uh-huh." Dean nodded.

"Well, you died. Almost. I had to give you heart massage, but don't worry no mouth to mouth." Sam added quickly.

"Sam." Dean warned. He could say something wasn't right.

"Dean, the wound is gone. And-" He blinked. "Damn, I could swear your head was broken two minute ago."

"Huh?" Dean reached his hand to touch the source of the killer pain in his head and felt a ragged scar on his forehead. "I could swear that rock hit me harder than that."

"Something is not right."

"You think?"

"We need to get out of here, Dean. You need a hospital even if the wounds are gone for now."

Dean didn't want to admit, but he felt pretty strange, so he nodded his agreement and pushed himself up.

"No."

They both looked back to find Kyle standing there with a despondent look on his face. "You can't do that. He'll die."

"What do you mean?" Sam barked angrily as Dean frowned with confusion and said, "what are you talking about?"

"I remember everything now." Kyle sighed sadly and sank to the ground. "The girl, the one we saw up there-"

"The one who stabbed me." Dean sounded annoyed.

"Yes. She... She, umm-" Kyle looked down. "That was Emily and I know now why I was the only survivor of that crash and why nobody else left the woods and why... Why you'll die if you leave."

Dean and Sam shared a look and walked to the other man.

"Well? Care to share?"

What they had heard next was unbelievable; impossible, crazy, even for _them_.

They basically were told that the entire woods were cursed; that after the crash, Anthony, the pilot had died instantly and they had buried him there, but the rest were merely wounded.

Kyle had ended up with a broken arm; Emily had a gash across her abdomen, and as anyone would guess on the right side over the liver, just not deep enough for her to bleed out too fast. And Brian, the last person, had a broken neck.

Like with any other crash, they had waited there for help to arrive; but over the night, when they'd fallen into a fitful sleep, their wounds had healed, even Brian's neck!

Obviously, they had been in awe of what had happened but had decided not to look the gift horse in the mouth and headed towards where they thought the town should be.

And that's when things got even more exciting; as they reached the woods' border, Emily's wound had reopened and she'd started to lose blood; then Brian had suddenly fell to the ground, paralyzed from neck down and the pain in Kyle's arm had been back.

Whatever had healed them was only effective inside those woods, but they couldn't have possibly waited there forever, so they'd moved Brian back into the woods where their injuries were once again healed and they were safe and then Kyle, who'd been in a better shape than the other two, had walked out to get them some help.

The problem was that as soon as Kyle had left the woods, he'd forgotten everything and consequently hadn't been able to get help for his friends. And apparently they had eventually died in those woods.

If that story was true, and they had all the evidence to believe that it was, then Dean was as good as dead. He couldn't leave that area and Sam had point blank refused to leave him there.

That night, none of them slept a wink and the next morning they were there, with Dean trying to convince Sam to leave.

"What if I forget everything? You'll die here, Dean."

"I'll die here if you don't leave either. At least I'll have a chance if you do." he reasoned. "Besides, I can look for the missing people and... _Or_ their bodies. These woods are haunted with their ghosts and we have to get rid of them, too. They're clearly angry for being left to die."

"We should try leaving here. We could both walk out; see if your wounds will reappear."

"Sam-"

"Dean, I can't do this without being sure that we've tried everything else."

Dean thought about the pain that he once had gone through and shuddered at the thought of going through it again, but he nodded nevertheless, knowing that his brother needed to see for himself that it was their only option.

"Fine, but if doesn't work," '_Which won't_' he thought grimly. "Then you'll get Kyle with you when you leave."

"No." This time it was Sam and Kyle who replied in unison.

Dean raised his eyebrow.

Kyle looked sheepishly. "I told you, I need some sort of closure. I can help you with finding those bodies and I can be here with you if you need help."

Sam nodded, but Dean didn't let him say anything. "Sam," he growled. "Our purpose is saving people and sparing them any unnecessary pain."

"I'm not a baby and I'm not going anywhere." Kyle refused stubbornly.

"Dammit-"

"No... Please. Let me do this. I... I left them here, it's my fault they're dead. I have to do something."

Dean sighed and looked upright.

"It's my decision." Kyle pointed out. "I'll stay."

"Dean, please." Sam sighed ruefully, "I need to know someone is there for you; that you're not alone."

Shaking his head in defeat, Dean knew that there was no point in arguing with Sam. Grabbing their stuff, they all headed for the town.

**.**

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**... TBC ...**

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**_A/N: _**_**Let me know what you think?**_**_! :)_**

_Sorry for any mistakes._

**_And please don't forget to donate and spread the word about the "Hats Off For Cancer" charity! - Baby Ackles Gift - We have only 85 days left.  
_**

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**.**


	4. Chapter 4

_**Note for a guest reviewer;** thanks for pointing out my mistake about the place of liver and spleen! I guess I've read too many fics putting both organs on the same side, causing me to unconsciously make the same mistake! Anyways, I fixed it; so, thank you. :)_

_._

* * *

_Dean, I can't do this without being sure that we've tried everything else."_

_Dean thought about the pain that he once had gone through and shuddered at the thought of going through it again, but he nodded nevertheless, knowing that his brother needed to see for himself that it was their only option._

* * *

Just as Dean had expected, the pain started to show itself as they neared the last rows of trees.

At first it was bearable and Dean thought that he might actually be able to stand it till they got to the car and from there they just had to drive to the hospital, but soon he realized that he'd assumed wrong.

Sam was keeping an eye on Dean to make sure he was alright and when blood started to run down the side of his face and Dean's hand went to his side and turned crimson he knew that getting Dean out of there was not an option.

He was about to give up and tell Dean to get back into the woods when Dean suddenly fell to his knees and then to his side, gritting his teeth to stifle the scream of pain that was threatening to come out.

Kneeling by his side, Sam checked the wound on his side to find it open and bleeding profusely. "God, Dean, I'm sorry; I shouldn't have urged you to come with me. Come on, I'll help you up and back into the woods."

But when he touched his brother's shoulder to help him up Dean finally lost it and cried out in pain, making Sam to pull his hand away immediately.

Kyle just stood there and looked worriedly between Dean and Sam, trying to think of way to be of some help.

"Dean? What's it?" Sam' voice was shaking; he hadn't touched any of Dean's wounds and didn't know what had elicit that reaction.

"I..." Dean coughed and Sam grimaced at the sight of a trickle of blood in the corner of his mouth. "I think... I'm... Broken." he said, making a gurgling sound that was something between laughing and coughing up blood.

"What?" Sam blinked.

"I think... The falling in the... River... Gosh-" he panted and squeezed his eyes shut. "Some of my bones... must... be brok... Broken... Badly."

Sam lost all the color in his face. Dean was fading fast and he didn't know what to do. "Damn." he cursed himself out loud.

"We should take him back quickly." Kyle stepped forward.

"And how do you suggest?" Sam snapped. "There isn't a place I can touch and he's in no shape to walk."

"So you wanna let him die here?" Kyle shot back. "You should carry him. Yes, he'll be in a world of pain, but he already is. Come on, you don't have any time to waste."

Sam stared down at his brother and blinked rapidly, not sure if it was right to put him through more pain.

"Do it." Dean gasped.

"Dean-"

"I can't-... Help you. You gotta do it. And-" He swallowed and took a breath. "And ignore any... Any noises that I make. Jus' do it."

Nodding his head, Sam quickly bent down and pulled Dean up, placing him over his shoulder in a fireman carry style; it wasn't the best position for someone in Dean's condition, but Sam couldn't carry his brother in his arms, he was too heavy to be carried that way and like Kyle had said, they didn't have any time to waste.

As Dean had instructed, he tried to ignore the cry of agony that left Dean's mouth despite all his efforts. But feeling the bones shifting under his hands and the blood soaking through his jacket and shirt, reaching his skin was truly nauseating and hard to ignore; so Sam just fixed his eyes before his feet and concentrated on putting one foot in front of the other.

Dean gritted his teeth, willing the screams to stay inside. His brother had a hard enough time, he didn't need to hear his screams and feel guilty above all. He didn't know why he wouldn't just lose contentiousness, because he was pretty sure that every bone in his body was broken and with the amount of blood that he'd already lost, you'd think that he should've gone into shock or died already.

Less than five agonizing minutes later, the pain started to subside and Dean finally fell into a fitful sleep.

"I think it's safe; his head wound has stopped bleeding." said Kyle, who was checking on Dean every five seconds.

Sam didn't stop, though. He walked for five more minutes, and then finally lowered Dean to the ground, checking him for wounds and broken bones. Everything seemed to be back to normal; but their situation had just gone from bad to worse and from worse to hell. Two heavily bleeding wounds were bad enough, but there was no way Dean could survive so many broken bones without immediate medical care. It almost felt like his brother had fallen from a 10 story building, hitting the concrete ground hard.

"I'm sorry, Dean." Sam murmured quietly as he pulled out a napkin from his pocket and wiped the blood from his brother's eyes. "I shouldn't have made you come with me."

"You should go." Kyle sat beside him.

Sam looked up; sorrow and fear were evident in his eyes. "I-"

"You're his only chance; and if you two are as good as my friend says you are, then I'm sure you will be fine."

"What if I forget?"

"You won't forget your brother. You'd know something is amiss when he's not by your side."

"You didn't when you found out that all your friends were gone."

"I knew something was wrong; I just didn't know that they were alive and waiting for me. Of course, Brian wasn't really waiting. He didn't want to get back to the town."

"What?" Sam blinked.

"If he'd left here, he'd have been paralyzed from the neck down for the rest of his life. I can't blame him for wanting to stay here. For years, I wished I'd died instead of losing my arm."

Sam nodded. "Still, what if I think he's dead too?"

"You have a pen?" Dean's raspy voice startled them.

"Dean? Are you feeling any better?" Sam looked down and asked anxiously.

Dean inhaled deeply. "I'm good." he was dead tired, though. "Give me your pen."

"What for?" Sam frowned.

"You should write down on your arm what you wanna remember later and when you leave here, you'll see it and remember everything."

_Dean and his ingenious ideas._ Sam grinned and quickly pulled out his pen and started to jot down notes on his left arm. He then went to the right one; it was harder since he was right-handed but he managed and then pulled his shirt up and wrote something on his belly.

"Man, enough." Dean pushed himself up to a sitting position; a glint of laughter was clear in his eyes. "You don't have to write down everything hundred times."

"Just making sure it'll be there when I need it. Umm, can you write them on my back too?"

Dean blinked and shared an amused look with Kyle, before laughing. "And how are you supposed to read it later? If you're gonna forget everything and somehow lose all these notes, then you won't remember the one on your back before washing it off your skin."

"Hmm. Good point. Maybe I should-"

"Sam, enough. Go. I know how to survive in a jungle for a long period of time." Dean rolled his eyes. "And this is nothing like the other experience."

Regret and sadness filled Sam's eyes, but he just nodded and squeezed Dean's shoulder before jogging away.

Kyle and Dean looked at his back for a while before Kyle spoke, "how do you know about surviving in the woods?"

Dean slowly levered himself up with his arms and stretched his body, appreciating the lack of the killer pain. "Purgatory." he answered curtly.

"What?" Kyle wasn't sure he'd heard right.

"We've been through too much. Let's leave it at that."

"Purgatory is real?" Kyle couldn't leave it; he had to ask. "And you've been to it and back?"

"And hell and heaven." Dean replied nonchalantly.

"Whu-... You... Man, I-" Kyle stammered, and then just shook his head. "So you've literally _died_ before?"

"Oh, only countless times."

Kyle gulped. "Sorry to say this, but man, I'm glad I'm not you. I thought losing an arm was the worst thing that could happen to someone."

Dean looked away, remembering all the pains and grieves that he'd gone through; losing the loved ones... He sighed. "Yeah, our lives suck."

Kyle saw the sadness in Dean's eyes and knew that the younger man had seen things that almost no one else could even imagine. And yet he was still standing there, strong and brave. "Guess they're right, after all when they say 'what doesn't kill you makes you stronger'." he uttered bemusedly.

Dean looked back and him and smiled warmly; appreciating the sincere compliment.

"You stay here; I'm gonna go get your stuff. Will be right back." Kyle said and didn't even wait for an answer before quickly walking away.

Dean stared at the retreating figure and shook his head. "And gone is the desperate man we saw just a few days ago." he mused aloud and started to wander around to take a look and see what he'd find.

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**... TBC ...**

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**_A/N: I'd love to know_**_** what you think**_**_! :)_**

_Sorry for any mistakes._

**_And please don't forget to donate and spread the word about the "Hats Off For Cancer" charity! - Baby Ackles Gift - We have only 79 days left to _**_**raise **_**__**** $29,385**.

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	5. Chapter 5

_**A/N: Sorry for the late update. I've been really busy these days. RL can consume all my time and I hate it for that!** **haha**  
But well, here's the next chapter, hope you like it and tell me what you think. ;)_

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After spending a night around a campfire and taking turns to stay awake and keep guard, Dean and Kyle started to walk around in hope of finding the bodies of those who'd been missing in those woods during years.

"It's a vast expanse. We can't possibly find all of them." Kyle noted after hours of looking and finding nothing.

"We probably will find the bodies of your friends somewhere together and the rest won't be far away." Dean explained the situation.

"They should've been able to leave here if they weren't hurt. Why nobody else has ever left these woods?" Kyle asked.

"Can't be sure, but I'd say that they all have been hurt at some point or have died." Dean looked over his shoulder. "Usually vengeful spirits kill people because they'd been forgotten or died in violent ways."

Kyle paled. "So it's all _my_ fault? None of these people would've died if I hadn't forgotten my friends?"

"Not your fault." Dean stated firmly. "These woods are cursed and that's the reason they're dead or vanished. Sam will find out the reason. Don't worry."

"You... Umm, you do realize that if he undoes the spell or whatever it is, then you will have slim chances of survival, right?" he asked uncertainly.

"Uh-huh." Dean looked unfazed. "If the curse is reversed then I'll be dead before he gets back."

"And you knew it all along." Kyle sounded horrified, berating himself for not thinking about it sooner; he was in awe of the amount of courage, _or was that recklessness?,_ his younger company was showing. He looked so nonchalant, like he'd absolutely no worries in this world and was walking in those woods just to have some fun. "But why sending him away?"

"There was no point in keeping him here." Dean shrugged. "He would've died, too, if he'd stayed; he could've gotten hurt. This way he can get rid of whatever is behind this mess and this place will be safe again. If I could help it, you wouldn't be here, either."

Kyle swallowed hard. He was at a loss for words. What would you say to someone who knew he'd die in no time and the only thing on his mind was the safety of his brother and a bunch of strangers. "You're not scared of death, anymore, are you?"

"Hell yeah, I am!" Dean turned around and gazed the other man; he was about to say something else when something behind Kyle caught his eyes. Looking over the slightly shorter man's head, he narrowed his eyes.

"What?" Kyle asked worriedly and turned around, but didn't see anything.

Dean took a few steps forward and passed Kyle before saying, "I think we've found a couple of bodies. Come on; time to learn a few things about hunting."

Kyle wrinkled his nose. "Can I pass?"

"You chose to stay, so no." Dean grinned and walked away. Kyle hot on his heels.

A few yards farther than where they were standing, Kyle saw three bodies lying on the ground and one in a sitting position, leaning against a tree.

"O God." Kyle moaned loudly as he quickly turned away and started to retch.

Dean glanced at him to make sure he was alright before starting the salt and burn routine.

The bodies hadn't turned to bones yet, but they'd started to rot and clearly birds and animals had taken a bite from their bodies. It _was_ gross. Dean had to admit.

"I wish we knew how many bodies we were looking for." He said when he was done; he'd dug a ditch and thrown the bodies in it to salt and burn.

Kyle, who was still looking pale and was sitting against a tree, took a deep breath and instantly regretted it when the smell of fuel and burnt flesh filled his nose. He fought the urge to throw up again and pushed himself up and walked away.

"You alright?" Dean grabbed their stuff and approached him.

"Nine-" Kyle said while nodding his head in answer to Dean's question. "Nine people went missing this year."

Dean looked back at the ditch. "Well, those were four of them. Can you estimate how many have disappeared before that?"

"Not sure, really. But there hadn't been many accidents around here during the past few years. People used to avoid this area; don't know what's changed."

"Well, we've found four; the rest shouldn't be too far. Let's take a look around." Dean paused. "Or maybe you should stay here and I'll look."

"I'm goo-"

"No, you're not." Dean interrupted him. "You might not puke your guts out anymore, but that was a pretty gross thing you saw there."

"I can help."

"Yeah, right." Dean snorted. "Don't worry, I won't go far; will be back in a few minutes if I don't find anything nearby."

.

Dean hadn't gone too far when he heard Kyle screaming his name. He rushed back, thinking that the other man had seen a ghost.

When he reached Kyle, he saw a young boy, hiding behind a tree, looking terrified and totally distraught.

Dean looked at Kyle who was eyeing the boy and narrowed his eyes in a silent question.

"I thought he was a ghost." Kyle said quietly, not taking his eye from the boy.

"Thought?"

"I don't think he is. I mean, look at him, he's frightened."

"Well, ghosts can be frightened; especially those who still don't know they're dead." Dean reasoned. "Hey, Kid." he said tentatively, keeping his finger on the trigger of his shotgun.

The boy shrank away.

"Hey, I' not gonna hurt you." Dean called.

"Are you..." The boy peeked from behind the tree. "One of them?" his voice was raspy.

Dean narrowed his eyes. He wasn't sure what that boy had seen, but he was most probably referring to the ghosts. "No." he answered. "No. I'm just like you." He declared, hoping that the boy was indeed still alive.

Kyle cleared his throat. "You should be Josh." he had read the names in the local newspaper and if he was right, this boy was one of the two boys who had disappeared two week back. He still couldn't understand how their parents had given up on them so easily.

The boy shook his head. "He was my friend." he stepped away from the tree and came a little closer to the men, taking a better look at Dean and then again at Kyle. "I know you. You're the freak guy who never leaves his house."

Kyle's eyes hardened; he'd heard the rumors that were going on behind his back and that was one of the reasons he didn't like to leave his house anymore.

Dean saw the look of hurt on the other man's face and turned his attention back to the boy. "Right now, the only freak here is you, boy." he said coldly.

The boy suddenly realized his mistake and looked down, mumbling something like an apology.

Kyle sighed. "If you're not Josh-... Wait. _Was_?" he suddenly remembered how the boy had used past tense to talk about his friend. "Where's your friend?"

The boy's lower lip trembled and he slumped to the ground.

Dean and Kyle exchanged a look and went to his side.

"He's dead." the boy said brokenly.

"How did it happen?"

"A... A man with-"

"With what?" Dean encouraged.

"We were lost; we couldn't find our way back. Wherever we went, one of them would appear before us." the boy started to sob. "Then this man suddenly appeared in front of us and grabbed Josh's neck." he turned a shade of green and swallowed a few times to keep the bile at bay. "He broke it. He broke Josh's neck." his shoulder was shaking hard.

"Oh God." Kyle paled and looked at Dean. "You think it's-"

"Pretty sure. Yeah." Dean nodded somberly. "We gotta find those bodies fast. They're the most dangerous ones." he looked down at the boy. "Hey, what did this man look like?"

"He... Umm... Well, his neck was at a wrong angle, like it was broken too."

The men sighed.

"What's your name?"

"Andy."

"OK, Andy. Tell me, have you been hurt too? Did anyone of them touch you?"

Any shook his way. "I ran away. I know I shouldn't have... But I couldn't... I just couldn't stay. I'm sorry." he hiccuped.

"Hey. Hey. You did great, Andy." Dean squeezed his shoulder. "You did exactly what you should've done."

The boy looked up with hope in his eyes.

Both Dean and Kyle nodded to reassure him.

"Now, listen to me Andy. Are you listening?"

The boy nodded fiercely like his life depended on the words he was about to hear; which probably was true.

"Good." Dean smiled. "We're gonna get you outta here. We can't leave with you, but you'll be OK as soon as you are out of these woods."

Andy's eyes widened. "I can't leave."

Dean frowned. "Yes you can. I know the way and I know how to keep you safe. I can't be with you the whole way, but Kyle will help you."

"Wait, no. I'm not gonna leave you here." Kyle protested.

"This boy needs help, Kyle. Make sure he's outta here and come back. I'll wait."

Kyle looked reluctant, but he knew Dean was right.

"Before you go, you need to tell me if you know where you lost your friend." Dean asked the boy.

Andy's shoulder slumped. "I can't be sure. It was days ago. But it wasn't far from here. I actually was trying to find him when I saw you guys."

Dean sighed. "Alright. Let's get you outta here and then we'll come back for him."

"What about Josh? I can't-"

"You can't help him anymore." Dean interrupted him. "We'll take care of his body. Let's go."

Before sending Andy away they wrote a note for Sam and put it in Andy's pocket!

They weren't sure if the boy could even find Sam, but that was the only chance they had to let Sam know things were alright for now. Their cellphones didn't have any signal and they didn't know how Sam was doing.

.

Sam on his part was experiencing a hard time.

After he left the woods, he passed out in the field and woke up the next morning to find himself lost and confused.

After walking for a while, he saw the impala, but was still confused why he was there. All he could remember was Amelia and her place. He couldn't remember why he was in that small town instead of being with his girlfriend, so he just drove to the first motel and when he went to check in, the owner had recognized him and asked about Dean.

Sam was confused; he was sure that Dean had been gone for over a year now, but if that was true, why was that man asking about him like they had been there together, just a few days ago?

He rummaged through his pockets and found a key to their room.

Entering the room, he saw signs of Dean everywhere.

So the motel owner hadn't mistaken him for someone else; Dean had actually _been_ there with him.

He sank into one of the beds and just stared ahead for hours, trying to remember what was going on.

Finally when he was about to give up and decided to take a shower, he saw the notes. They were all over his arms and chest and that was when things started to come back to him.

Fortunately he'd written everything that he thought would matter, because without them he couldn't even remember what case they were working on. They hadn't left anything in their room indicating what they were doing.

But the notes... Oh, crap. Dean's life was in great danger and he had wasted _- he checked his watch again-_ damn he'd wasted at least a whole day. He had to act fast.

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**... TBC ...**

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**_A/N: Let me know what_**_** you think?**_**_! :)_**

_Sorry for any mistakes._

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	6. Chapter 6

After making sure that Andy was safe and out of the woods, Dean and Kyle headed back to where they had found the first bodies, but by the time they got there it was getting dark and they were too tired to try anything.

So, once again they settle around a campfire and Dean poured salt around them to make sure they were safe for the night. It was true that his chances weren't good to get out of those damn woods, but he wasn't about to let anything happen to his company.

He wanted to stay awake and make sure that they weren't in any kind of danger, but with the day they had, he couldn't fight the exhaustion any longer and finally his eyelids drooped.

The next morning he woke up with a hand touching his neck and before the attacker could think of doing anything funny, he had him pinned down on the ground and his gun was shoved into the man's face.

It took his drowsy mind a little more than 30 seconds to register the man as Kyle and that was when he finally let go of him.

"What the hell, man?" Dean sat back, trying to calm his frantic heartbeat.

Kyle, who was still shocked, rubbed his neck. "WOW, you're fast." Instead of being scared he sounded more like an amused little boy.

Dean rolled his eyes. "Never surprise me if you wanna live."

"Lesson learned." he nodded. "Your breathing didn't sound right; I just wanted to check your pulse and see how it was." he explained his action.

Dean blinked a few times in confusion. Now that Kyle had mentioned it, he _did_ feel kinda funny. "Medic?"

"Med. student." he sighed. "I dropped out of Med School when this happened." he slightly lifted his left shoulder, indicating to the place where his left arm used to be.

"So? What do you think, Doc? What's the verdict?" Dean changed the subject, feeling uncomfortable when he didn't know what to say.

"Your pulse is a bit too fast. And not regular."

"Not sure whether it's strange for me or not." Dean declared and stood up. "We need to eat something." he wasn't really hungry, but they needed some energy to keep going. Nobody knew how long they had to stay there and if he was about to die, he didn't want it to be because of malnutrition.

"I can't really hunt with one arm and I don't think it's wise to waste our ammo."

"Who said anything about using ammo?" Dean smirked. "Stay here."

He didn't explain what he was going to do but about an hour later he was back with two dead birds.

"They better not come back to life when they're inside us." Dean commented as he sat down next to the fire. "And I found two more bodies. Let's eat so we can go and have some fun."

"I like your definition of fun."

"I know right?" Dean grinned.

.

Sam hadn't slept a wink since he had remembered what had happened to Dean in the woods. He'd done some research, called anyone he knew and with Garth's access to Bobby's extensive library he was coming to some conclusions.

He was working hard on the notes in front of him when he heard a knock on the door.

Frowning, he got up from his chair and went to open the door; surprised to find a young boy standing there. "Hi, can I help you?"

"Umm, are you Sam?"

Totally confused, Sam just nodded.

The boy fidgeted and played with his hands. "Umm, I'm Andy. I... I saw your brother in the woods. He saved me and helped me out of there."

Sam's eyes widened. "You're one of the boys that got lost there, two weeks ago." he stated.

Andy nodded. "Look, Umm, I don't remember much, but today morning my Mom was going to get rid of my clothes when she found this in my pocket." he held up a piece of paper. "She asked me about it and I didn't know where it had come from, but when I read the notes, I just remembered the two men who'd saved me. And this note is for you, with an address to your room. So I thought it was urgent."

Sam snatched the note and read it. Dean had just said that things were alright with them and that he didn't need to worry; he'd also added some words which probably were a reminder of their situation.

His brother probably had just wanted to make sure that Sam would remember to look for whatever that had cursed those woods.

"Tha-" he cleared his throat. "Thanks, Andy. You did great."

The boy just nodded.

"How was Dean looking? Did he look alright?"

"Dean?" Andy frowned.

Sam figured that they hadn't really introduced themselves, but before he could explain anything, Andy talked. "Oh, right, your brother. Because well, I know the other guy and his name is not Dean and he doesn't have a brother."

"So?"

"Right. Umm... Yes? I think? He was kinda pale, but he looked alright and it seemed like he had everything under control."

"Good. Good." Sam smiled. "Thank you."

"I still owe him." the boy shrugged. "I gotta go." he said and turned around to leave but then stopped and looked back. "Umm,"

"What's it?"

"My... My friend, Josh; he died there. Your brother said they'd take care of his body."

Sam's eyes softened and he put a hand on the boy's shoulder. "He'll take good care of him. Don't worry."

The boy nodded one last time and gave him a watery smile before walking away; leaving Sam with a note from Dean and more research to do.

Going back inside, he grabbed his cellphone and dialed a number.

"Hey, Garth, I need you to find a spell for me... Yes... I don't know." he paused and looked at his notes. "I think it's a Dryad." Rolling his eyes, he shook his head. "No, it's the Greek feminine spirits of the trees... Uh-huh... Well, it makes sense, those are oak woods... Are you sure? Like absolutely sure?" he sighed. "That explains many things... OK, just find me that spell, I'll get everything else... And Garth... Thank you."

.

"Your breathing is getting worse." Kyle noted after they got rid of another three bodies.

So far they had found 14 bodies and had burned them all and they were sure that they'd, at least, burned Brian's body, too. It was hard not to recognize it with the shape of his neck.

"I thought the woods were supposed to heal the wounded." Dean rasped. He was feeling worse. The pain was nothing like when he'd tried to leave the woods, but it still was hard to breathe.

"That's what I thought, too. But Brian's neck was broken and at a wrong angle when we found his body. Guess things start to reverse after a while in the woods, anyway."

"Awesome." Dean muttered. "Nothing cheers me up like a painful slow death."

For a few seconds, Kyle just observed him worriedly, but then his eyes shone. "Hey, I have an idea."

"What? Kill me and put me out of my misery?"

Kyle chuckled, "Well, that's an option, too; but no, my way is more fun and less risky."

"I'm all ears."

"I can get outta here and call Sam."

Dean folded his arm across his chest.

"And I can tell him to send us medics from another town." Kyle elaborated.

Dean looked at him like he'd lost his mind. "And why would they listen to him and come when you have perfectly fine medics in your town?"

"Well, because they owe me a favor or two." Kyle smirked. "I know my people. They won't get near these woods and no amount of reassuring will change their minds. Other towns don't really know about these woods, so it's possible they would come."

When Dean didn't say anything, Kyle continued.

"If they're here before the spell is broken completely, they might be able to save you."

"That's not gonna work." Dean said cynically.

"It's worth a shot. I'll just tell him to call them when he's ready to stop this thing."

Dean pondered for some minutes and finally nodded. "Not like we have better things to do." He expected to hear something in return but when the silence stretched, he looked up from his duffel bag and found Kyle pale, staring at something behind him.

Turning Around, Dean found the girl who'd stabbed him, standing there, with fire in her eyes. Quickly he brought up the shotgun and fired.

The moment the spirit vanished, he grabbed the can of salt and started to draw a circle around Kyle. "Whatever happens, you'll _not_ leave this circle. Is that clear?"

Kyle was still staring ahead.

Dean grabbed his right shoulder and slapped him in the face. "Hey. You with me?"

Kyle blinked and gulped. "She's mad at me."

"Yeah, I'd say so... You. Will. Not. Leave. This. Circle." he bit off his words. "You got it?"

"But-"

"I will not let her hurt you. Her body must be around. I'll find it and get rid of it. When she comes back, make sure she stays here; talk to her, but do not leave this circle; not even if you think she is going to come after me."

Kyle didn't want to accept it.

Dean sighed, "I can deal with it. Just stay here. OK?" When he felt that the other man was still hesitant, he used another way. "Look, you're my only chance out of here and you should be able to walk out of these woods to help me. So just do as I say."

Kyle finally nodded and sat down inside his circle, just to make it harder for himself to leave it and watched as Dean grabbed his stuff and jogged off.

He hadn't been sitting there for long when Emily faded in again and stood there, gazing him with furious eyes.

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**... TBC ...**

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**_A/N: Let me know what_**_** you think?**_**_! :)_**

_Sorry for any mistakes._

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	7. Chapter 7

_Dean sighed, "I can deal with it. Just stay here. OK?" When he felt that the other man was still hesitant, he used another way. "Look, you're my only chance out of here and you should be able to walk out of these woods to help me. So just do as I say."_

_Kyle finally nodded and sat down inside his circle, just to make it harder for himself to leave it and watched as Dean grabbed his stuff and jogged off._

_He hadn't been sitting there for long when Emily faded in again and stood there, gazing him with furious eyes._

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"Em-"

"You left me here to die." she said vehemently.

"I-"

"You bastard left me." she screamed.

"Em, please." He begged desperately. "I didn't want to. But these woods... They're cursed. I forgot everything the moment I walked out of here."

"No, you sun of a bitch. You forgot because you didn't care." She screamed and came closer. "Stop blaming everything else and admit it. You say you love me and the moment I need you, you just walk away and leave me alone."

Her eyes fell on his left shoulder and an impish grin appeared on her face. "What happened to your arm?" she asked even though she knew the answer; it just gave her some sort of satisfaction to see the anguish in his eyes.

Kyle looked down at his arm and then looked away.

"You deserve it; but that's not enough. You deserve to die slowly and painfully, just the way _I_ did." she snarled. "You know, the fatal wound did disappear at first; just to come back slowly and to kill very painfully. I sat there and watched Brian as he lost his senses and power little by little and then died. I lay there and coughed up blood and writhed in pain, still waiting for you heartless bastard to come back and save me. I refused to believe Brian when he said you'd never come back for us." she gritted out angrily.

Kyle's face was wet with tears.

"You should die here, too. I can't believe that you've had the gut to come back after so many years, but now that you're here, I won't let you leave." She stepped closer until she was standing just behind the invisible barrier that salt had created. "But you coward have once again hide in a safe place, haven't you?" she chuckled bitterly. "Some things never change. Once again you have let another friend of yours, who's in a world of pain, take care of everything, while you hide and pretend everything is alright."

Kyle's head jerked up as a concerned look washed over his face.

"That's right. Your friend is dying faster that he should." Emily laughed. "Soon, he won't even be able to breathe without jarring his broken ribs."

"He'll be fine. I'll make sure of that." Kyle gritted.

"Like the way you did for me?" Emily spat. "Man, sounds like he's just safe now that you have his back." she said sarcastically.

Kyle's shoulders slumped. "I loved you, Em. I've never lied to you. I really didn't remember a thing."

"Right."

Kyle reached out to touch her but stopped just in time, remembering Dean's words and his promise to Dean.

Emily's voice suddenly changed and sorrow filled her eyes. "Touch me, baby." she whispered. "Just one more time." tears started to run down her pale and almost transparent face. "The last thing on my mind before losing the battle was your touch. It's always been so soft and caring."

Kyle looked away, unable to see so much sadness in the eyes of the girl who he'd loved more than life itself.

"Please, babe. One last time and I promise to go away. I just need to feel your fingers and your touch."

Kyle looked up, he couldn't take it anymore.

Reaching out his hand, he was about to touch her when he saw the change of look in her eyes as wickedness and hatred replaced the initial sadness.

It was too late to pull his hand away; Emily reached out to pull him out of his circle and Kyle's last thought was that he'd failed another friend.

He closed his eyes and waited for Emily to pull him out and kill him when her scream filled the woods and echoed between the trees.

Kyle's eyes snapped open in time to see Emily's spirit vanishing in fire; but the look on her face was once again the one of calmness and satisfaction. She was finally able to rest.

Cautiously, Kyle stepped out of his circle and looked around to see if he could find Dean, but there was no sign of the younger man.

Half an hour later Dean finally showed up; his right arm was around his mid-section, clutching it hard and perspiration had covered his handsome face.

"You OK?" he asked as soon as he spotted Kyle.

Kyle was bewildered. Was Dean really asking _him_ if he was alright when he, himself, was obviously in pain? "I'm fine; but I guess we can't say the same for you."

Dean instantly dropped his arm to his side and straightened up his back. "I'm good."

"Aha." Kyle said, obviously not convinced. "Emily told me how much pain you were in and how the injuries start to come back."

Dean just shrugged; there was no point in denying the truth, anymore.

"We're running out of time." Kyle looked around. "Let's get you outta here. You've done more than your fair share."

Dean shook his head. "There might be more bodies around here."

"And what do you think you can do? Search the whole woods? Dean, you're officially the most pigheaded man I've ever seen in my life."

"I take that as a compliment." Dean grinned.

Kyle shook his head and rolled his eyes. "Hey, umm... Thanks, by the way." he sighed. "I think now Emily can rest."

Dean nodded. "Sorry for your loss?" he tried.

"Yeah, thanks, I guess." Kyle chucked. "Come on; the closer we are to the field, the sooner the medics can get to you. That way, your chances of survival will be higher."

He didn't even let Dean protest as he pushed him forward.

Dean was too exhausted to refuse and somehow he knew that Kyle had a point; he couldn't search the whole woods for bodies. At least the most vengeful spirits were gone.

.

Sam had gathered everything he needed and was about to head to the woods. He just hoped that he could find Dean in time and cursed himself for not setting an appointment before leaving. Not that it was possible; there really was no way he could say when he was going to head back _before_ leaving the woods. But it didn't change the fact that he had no idea how the hell to find Dean. Seconds mattered for Dean in his current condition.

He'd just tossed his bag onto the back seat and was about to sit behind the steering wheel when his phone started to ring. Checking it, his eyes widened when he found Dean's name on screen.

"Dean?" he answered the phone quickly.

"No; it's me, Sam." Kyle replied. "Listen, I can't talk for long; the battery might die and I had to leave Dean to come out and call you. I needed to tell you that we're right where we were before you left, but that's not the only reason I called."

"Is Dean alright?" Sam asked, dreading the answer.

"Not really. He's deteriorating." Kyle responded despondently. "Sam, I'm gonna give you some names and numbers; call them and tell them that you're calling on my behalf and that you need medics here. You gotta do it before breaking the spell, so they can get here in time. Medics from our own town won't come near these woods."

"What?" Sam's eyes widened.

"Sam, those people vanished and even their _families_ didn't look for them. You really think they would come here for a stranger?"

He had a point. Sam thought. "But these friends of yours... Will they come?"

"Yes."

"But if they're far away-"

"Tell them you need a helicopter. Fortunately, we don't have one in our town, so they'll come. And Sam, Dean doesn't have much time and if the spell breaks and those medics are not here, then there won't be much hope for him."

Sam swallowed. "Give me the names. I'll call them right away."

.

Sam called the first number that Kyle had given him and just as Kyle had said, they promised to send a team immediately; _with_ a medical copter.

All Sam had to do, at that moment, was to break the spell before the paramedics showed up.

He drove like crazy to the woods and run to where Dean and Kyle were supposed to be.

But when he got there, the sight before him broke his heart; Dean was sitting on the ground, with his back against a tree and his eyes closed, but his hand was still clenched around the gun.

"Dean." he called as he rushed to his brother's side.

Dean's eyes opened slowly and he smiled tiredly. It was clear that he was in so much pain and too spent to hide it.

"I'm here, Dean. It's gonna be alright. The medics will be here shortly."

"You got it?"

"I've got what I need. I just need to finish it here."

"Do you need help?" Kyle asked from behind.

Sam turned around and looked up at him. "Not with this. Just sit with him and-"

"I've got him. Do whatever you need."

"What's it, Sam?" Dean queried.

"It's called Dryad; a tree nymph."

Dean's eyebrow peaked. "You serious?"

"Like a heart attack."

"Why would she curse these woods?"

"Apparently years ago, people used to cut the trees here and destroy the nature. She'd gotten mad and had put a curse on these trees to protect them."

Dean snorted. "Man, how come every creature's God is protective of them, and _our_ God has left the building?"

"Our God has left the building?" Kyle couldn't help but exclaim loudly.

Dean looked at him apologetically. "Sorry to be the bearer of bad news."

"Huh; no wonder we're so screwed." Kyle didn't doubt Dean's words even for a second; if Dean said that God had left, then God had left. Absently he was amazed at how much he trusted the younger man that he hadn't even known one week prior.

"No kidding." Dean said and eyed Sam as he prepared everything to break the spell. "How are you gonna break the spell?"

"I'm gonna talk to her."

"Pardon me?" Dean blinked; pain momentary forgotten.

"There's no way to break it." Sam said quietly. "But Dryad is known to be nice, shy and sympathetic."

"And you thought she'd break her spell just because you asked nicely?"

"Well, it'll be our little secret." Sam shrugged. "There's no need for people to know that this place is not cursed anymore."

"They'll eventually find out when people return to their home alive."

"The chance of people coming here is low. Besides, these days we can fight those who cut the trees with law. There's no need to use magic."

Kyle thought that Sam was right and Dean just shrugged, he didn't care how Sam wanted to break the spell as long as he could convince the nymph. Heck, he was willing to _sleep_ with her if that was what it took to convince her.

"Do the medics know how they should find us?" Kyle suddenly asked.

"I have marked the trees; it'll be easy to find us." Sam announced and started to read the chant to summon the Dryad.

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**... TBC ...**

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**_A/N: I'd love to know what_**_** you think?**_**_! :)_**

_Sorry for any mistakes._

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	8. Chapter 8

**_Here's just a friendly reminder: We have like 28 days to raise $9,518 for "Hats Off For Cancer" charity! Donate in honor of Jensen Ackles and Danneel Harris' baby girl. And please, spread the word. Every single dollar counts! :-)_**

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**_Also, I'm so sorry for the late update; I'm really busy with my exams and even now I'm still not free! But I started to work on this chapter as soon as I found some free time! Hope you like it. :D_**

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.

Dean wasn't exactly aware of his surroundings; he felt exhausted and the pain was coming back full force.

He vaguely acknowledged a tall, slim woman with short curly hair, appearing before him. She had kind eyes and if he was feeling just a _little_ bit better, he sure would've flirted with her.

'_Do the nymphs have a private number you can use to call them later?' _he mused absently.

Everything else might've been a blur, but he could clearly remember her touch on his face and her voice, telling him that he was a good guy and that she'd never wanted this for him. That should've been the moment when the pain eased off and he felt relieved, but when it came to Dean Winchester, nothing would ever go as expected. So instead of feeling some sort of comfort, right then the pain washed over him so fast that he wasn't able to stifle the cry of agonizing pain when Kyle tried to lay him flat on his back.

Soon Sam was there, too, and man, it really looked like he was crying, what with his face being wet and all. That couldn't be true, though; he must've been hallucinating; because well, Sam hadn't cried for years. In fact, he couldn't remember the last time that Sam had cried. But it definitely was nice to see the softness back in his baby brother's eyes; even if it was just his imagination. He sometimes missed the old Sammy.

"Dean, please. Help is here. Just hang on." Sam had said and it was then that Dean realized Kyle and Sam weren't the only ones around him.

People were hovering over him, attaching wires and tubes to his body. He was feeling lightheaded but the pain wasn't as bad as it was just five minutes ago, and he guessed that it had something to do with the needle that had been inserted under his skin.

He wanted to pat his brother's hand to reassure him and really wanted to open his mouth to tell him that everything would be alright, but he didn't find the energy to do so and as soon as the paramedics moved him to put him on a stretcher, his world exploded in pain and a few moments later he slipped into unconsciousness.

.

Sam had been left behind the closed doors of the OR for hours and pacing the waiting room's floor hadn't helped his cause any.

He couldn't even tell exactly how long he had been there; he just knew that Kyle hadn't left his side for a moment.

They had whisked Dean away more than seven hours ago, and in an operating room, even one hour was too long, let alone seven.

Finally when he thought he was about to pass out from the amount of stress he was under, the door opened and a tired looking man in surgical scrubs walked out.

"Mr. Riley?" he asked and Sam just nodded numbly. "May we sit down? I can hardly feel my legs." he smiled tiredly and led Sam to one of the chairs.

Kyle wasn't sure if Sam wanted him there, but when Sam looked back and tried to locate him, he knew that the younger man needed him there, so he sat down too.

"I'm not gonna lie to you, your brother's listed in critical condition and his situation is really worrying." The doctor began. "But he's finally stable. During the last few hours, I with the help of two other specialists have been trying to save his life. We've managed to save his liver; he'd been lucky as the knife had just nicked the organ. But a broken rib had penetrated his spleen and it was beyond repair. I'm sorry, but we had to remove it. He suffered a great deal of blood loss and has been given 3 units so far and is being given another one as we speak."

Sam didn't know what to say. None of those things were good news in general, but the fact that Dean was still alive to lose his spleen was good; after all, you can live without a spleen, you just have to be more careful.

"The blow to his head has caused some problem and unfortunately we discovered a fracture in his skull and some minor bleeding. He's being closely monitored for that and we're hopeful that it won't need a surgery to be fixed." he took a look at his notes and shook his head. "Dang, the list is long." he sighed. "He has three broken ribs, and as I said earlier one of them ruptured his spleen and one another punctured his left lung which fortunately we've been able to repair. He's on ventilator but we'll wear him off the machine when he starts to wake up. _If_ he wakes up." The doctor didn't want to give them false hope. The situation was really dire.

_'If he wakes up.' _Damn, those words were too familiar for Sam's liking and suddenly he saw himself back in many other similar situations when he'd almost lost Dean. Just how many times would his brother be able to cheat Death? Heck, Death, the horseman, knew Dean better than many of their acquaintances.

"His left collarbone was broken and so was his left humeral bone," The doctor continued and brought Sam's mind back. "But those were clean breaks and we set them easily. His left fibula and anklebone were also broken which we set."

"_Jesus_ Christ." Kyle finally blew out; he really couldn't keep quiet anymore.

"Told you the list was long." The doctor agreed remorsefully. "But he's clearly stubborn, which is a great thing. With those injuries he shouldn't have even made it to the hospital. I really wasn't optimist before the surgery, but now I know better." he smiled. "The next few days will be the true test; if he makes it through the next 48 hours and wakes up on his own, then I'm cautiously optimist that he'll make a full recovery. He's gonna need some extensive physical therapy, but we'll get to that later."

_That's a lot of ifs._ Sam thought somberly, unable to feel relieved yet. He didn't even realize when the doctor left; his mind just came back to the present when Kyle gently shook his shoulder and handed him a cup of warm coffee.

He hadn't taken more than a gulp when his eyelids started to feel heavy and he lost the battle with the darkness; not realizing it when Kyle first took the cup from his hand and then gently helped him to lean back.

.

When he opened his eyes, Sam found himself lying in a cot with Dean lying in a bed in front of him, hooked to as many IVs and machines as possible.

He slowly pushed himself up and looked around. Kyle chose that moment to enter the room. "Oh, hey there."

Sam rubbed the sleep out of his eyes. "How's he?"

"Holding his own." Kyle sat on a chair. "How are _you_?"

"I'm fine. How long was I out?"

"About 18 hours."

"What?" Sam jumped to his feet but instantly sank back to the cot when the blood rushing from his head caused the room to spin. "18 _hours_? I slept that long? You slipped something in my coffee, didn't you?"

"Just a sleeping pill." Kyle admitted. "But you haven't even drunk half of that coffee before dropping off. Your body clearly needed the rest."

Sam wanted to tell him that he still didn't have the right to drug him, but strangely enough, he found himself grateful; so he kept his mouth shut. Looking over the other bed, he checked his brother. The older hunter's body was covered with bandages and cast literally from head to toe. _Gosh, what a mess._

Looking up, Sam realized that Kyle looked beaten, too. "You need to rest, too. You know?"

Kyle shrugged. "I've been taking naps."

"Real rest."

"I've been resting for _ten_ years. It's time I moved around." he smiled.

"So? You plan to go back to your cave?" Sam said and thought that it sounded a lot like something that Dean would've said.

"No," Kyle smiled. "Actually, I plan to move to this town and continue with my studies."

"Your studies?" Sam looked confused.

"Med school."

"Right, friends with medics." Sam smiled. "That's great man. And you know, I never thanked you for your help. You helped us a lot. Without your help-" he trailed off, not willing to think about how worse everything could've been if they didn't have Kyle with them.

"Not really." Kyle shook his head. "I mean, if it wasn't for you two, I'd still be hiding behind closed doors of my house. You opened my eyes and I had the chance to remember my past and move on. And Dean... Well, he made sure that my girl's finally resting and he saved my life. So I guess it's me who owe you guys."

"You just call us if you ever need anything else." Sam offered.

"No offense, but I really hope that these kinda things never come up again. The same goes for you, though. In your line of work, I'm sure you'll need a personal medic." Kyle chuckled.

"You have no idea." Sam shook his head. "But I can say that we've become experts. We can take care of things as long as they don't get this bad." he ruefully motioned towards Dean. "The idiot." he sighed. "He knew all along that he was going to die, and yet he managed to send me away. So many years have passed and I still can't figure out how he does that."

"Older brothers have that power."

"So has he said." Sam chuckled. "So has he said."

.

The next 48 hours came and went without any major incidents, but that also meant that Dean hadn't regained consciousness.

Sam had started to worry if his brother was going to wake up at all. The doctor had told him that the bleeding in his brother's head had stopped and he was healing nicely, but Dean had yet to come around.

Sam had forced Kyle to go get a room and rest and Kyle knew that Sam needed some time to be alone with his brother, so he had left. He'd just come back twice a day to bring Sam some food and coffee.

"Dean, don't you think that you've had enough rest?" Sam asked quietly. He'd been talking to his brother a lot, but so far nothing had changed. "I mean come on, it's three days that you haven't moved an inch; you're gonna lose all those muscles that you're so proud of if you don't wake up soon."

"You know, I was thinking; next time I see Cas, I'll punch him in the face. He's never there when you need him." he sighed. "But then I realized that I'd probably just break my own hand if I tried that." he chuckled. "Maybe we could trap him and torture him with the angel knife. Huh?" He leaned back in his chair. "Yeah, you probably won't agree. After all, he's your personal angel." he frowned. "I want my own angel. That's not fair..." he went quiet for a few moments and then added, "It's the moment when you say _'you had your very own demon.'_"

His eyes glazed and all traces of humor left his tone. "Dean, please. Please wake up. I can't take it if you don't." he closed his eyes. "I know I didn't look for you when you were gone and I know I've been acting like a jerk since you've come back and... And I know it seemed like I didn't care that much, but you know me better than anyone; it's just my defense mechanism. It's all because I can't take losing you again. I keep thinking that if I keep my distance, next time that you disappear or die, it'd hurt less. But man," he chuckled bitterly. "I'm telling you, it's not working. Whatever I do, it always hurts the same. No, in fact, it always hurts more; because I have to ask myself '_what if this is it?_ _What if he stays gone for good, this time? What if we've finally run out of luck?'_ Dammit, you _always_ put yourself in the harm's way for me and I've lost you so many times that I'm not sure how I'm still going. I just..." his voice shook. "Dean, please don't die." a tear left his eye and he abruptly stood up from his chair and left the room to clean himself and well, to regain his composure.

.

An hour later, when he slowly walked back towards his brother's ICU room, a commotion around Dean's room made him feel dizzy.

Automatically thinking the worst, he dragged his feet to his brother's room and was shocked to find the ventilator replaced with an Oxygen mask. He looked around and found Kyle standing there and when he caught his eyes, the other man broke into a broad smile.

"He woke up about forty minutes ago. His doctors decided it was safe to remove the ventilator." Kyle explained.

Sam wasn't sure if he wanted to cry or laugh. He just looked dumbfounded as he stood there for a couple of minutes and observed the scene before him.

Quietly he walked to his brother's bed and grabbed his right hand and gave it a gentle squeeze; he didn't really expect a reaction from Dean and just wanted to show him that he was there, so when Dean's eyes fluttered open, he actually felt overjoyed.

Although Dean's eyes were hazed with pain and exhaustion, it was clear that he was aware of his surroundings and for a second Sam thought about pinching himself to make sure he wasn't dreaming.

Dean moved his hand and grabbing Sam's, he squeezed it back; too spent to utter any words.

But that was OK; his brother had once again found his way back to him. Like he always had. Nothing could keep Dean Winchester down for long. Not even Death itself.

Sam smiled broadly for the first time in days and patted Dean's hand. "Welcome back, man. Thanks for not giving up."

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**... The END ...**

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_**A/N:**_**_ Alright everyone. That's it. Hope you enjoyed this story.__Tell me what you think of this last chapter?! :)_**

_Thank you for all your support, alerts and favorites. Special thanks to those who left me reviews or PMs and encouraged me with their words. _

_Thanks to my anonymous reviewers; I wish I could thank you one by one, but well, you know that it's not possible._

_Sorry for any mistakes._

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